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Star Wars<\/strong>\u00a0 (1977)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 20th<\/sup> Century Fox\/Sci-Fi-Action-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 121 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (sci-fi violence, mild language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: George Lucas\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: George Lucas\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: John Williams\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Gilbert Taylor\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: May 25, 1977 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, James Earl Jones (voice), Phil Brown, Shelagh Fraser.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $460.9 million (US, including \u201997 re-issue)\/$775.3 million (World)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Rating<\/strong>: ****<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0I don\u2019t care what name it goes by these days, this 1977 sci-fi classic will always be Star Wars<\/strong> to me. Also, I really wish writer-director George Lucas would leave it alone and stop making changes to this film and its two sequels- The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I just don\u2019t see the point in touching up the special effects, re-editing shots and adding scenes. The version that I just rewatched on DVD is NOT the same Star Wars<\/strong> that I grew up with. Lucas\u2019 constant tampering doesn\u2019t make it any less enjoyable; it\u2019s just entirely unnecessary.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0That being said, Star Wars <\/strong>is still one of the best sci-fi flicks of all time. I\u2019m often asked about my favorite movies and some people raise their eyebrows when I tell them that my list of favorite sci-fi movies does NOT include any of the Star Wars films. The reason for that is simple; the original three movies comprise my all-time favorite sci-fi-fantasy trilogy (the second being the Lord of the Rings movies). They exist on a plane by themselves. They have no equal. I will admit to the first movie being my least favorite of the three. It\u2019s still great, but in rare reverse-case of sequelitis, each movie is better than the one that precedes it meaning Return of the Jedi is the one I like the most (in spite of too many Ewoks!).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0EVERYBODY knows the plot of Star Wars<\/strong>. Unless you\u2019ve been living in the most remote section of desert planet Tatooine, there\u2019s no way you don\u2019t know the story of hero Luke Skywalker (Hamill) and how he gets involved in the galactic civil war between the Rebel Alliance and the evil Empire. It all starts with two droids, C-3PO (Daniels) and R2-D2 (Baker), escaping from a spaceship after villain Darth Vader (Prowse) and his forces attack. They capture Princess Leia (Fisher) shortly after she hides the stolen plans to the Death Star in R2-D2\u2019s memory. The two droids land on Tatooine where they\u2019re captured by Jawa traders and sold to a farmer (Brown) and his nephew Luke.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0The boy dreams of leaving home and seeking adventure in other parts of the galaxy. He gets his wish when he discovers part of Leia\u2019s message while cleaning R2-D2. It\u2019s meant for somebody named Obi-Wan Kenobi (Guinness) who turns out to be the crazy old hermit named Ben that lives in the hills. After rescuing Luke from Tusken Raiders, Ben\/Obi-Wan tells the boy about his days as a Jedi Knight and fighting alongside his father and fellow Jedi, Anakin Skywalker. It\u2019s also revealed that his father was betrayed and killed by Darth Vader, a former pupil of Obi-Wan\u2019s seduced by the Dark Side. The Jedis, a dying breed, derive their supernatural powers from the Force. The old man agrees to teach Luke the ways of the Force so he can become a Jedi Knight like his father.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0Obi-Wan needs to take Leia\u2019s message to her home planet of Alderaan so the Rebel fighters can analyze the plans to the Death Star, a powerful weaponized space station capable of destroying entire planets. In order to get there, Obi-Wan employs the services of intergalactic smuggler Han Solo (Ford) and his first mate, a seven-foot Wookie named Chewbacca (Mayhew).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0After narrowly escaping capture at the hands of Imperial Stormtroopers, they all head off to Alderaan in the Millennium Falcon. They soon learn that the planet has been destroyed by order of Death Star commanding officer Grand Morff Tarkin (Cushing) and Leia is being held prisoner. Now it\u2019s a rescue mission in which Han Solo only agrees to take part for a huge reward. He owes a great deal of money to space gangster Jabba the Hut. They rescue Leia, Obi-Wan fights Vader and loses and Luke joins the rebel squadron set to attack and destroy the Death Star.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0For other movies, this synopsis would be a flagrant case of TMI (Too Much Information), but this is Star Wars<\/strong>, so I feel okay divulging nearly the entire story. What some people don\u2019t realize is that Lucas based the story on Akira Kurosawa\u2019s The Hidden Fortress which explains why the Jedi Knights have a lot in common with Japanese samurai. In other words, Star Wars<\/strong> is a samurai movie by way of the old Flash Gordon serials of the 30s and 40s.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0Lucas didn\u2019t know what to expect when Star Wars<\/strong> hit theaters on May 25, 1977. It opened in only 32 theaters and quickly became a major success and instant phenomenon. It\u2019s one of two movies I can recall playing in theaters for a full year (the other one is E.T.). I remember how obsessed my classmates were with this movie. The funny thing is that I had very little interest in seeing Star Wars <\/strong>when it first came out. As a 10YO music obsessive, my attention was focused on the unattainable R-rated Saturday Night Fever. I finally ended up seeing Star Wars<\/strong> over Christmas break that year and wasn\u2019t all that impressed. I know, I know \u2026.. BLASPHEMY!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0It wasn\u2019t until I saw the 1981 re-release that I began to fully appreciate Star Wars<\/strong>. It\u2019s great fun! The special effects are amazing and very innovative for the late 70s. Lucas did things with effects that no other filmmaker had ever tried. The man is an artist and a technical genius. He\u2019s the guy that founded ILM (Industrial Light & Magic), the company responsible for the special effects seen in many popular films (e.g. the Indiana Jones movies, the Harry Potter movies, Poltergeist, Back to the Future, Starman, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, etc.).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0As a director, Lucas is fine. He actually does a great job with this first Star Wars movie. The acting isn\u2019t too bad either. It\u2019s great seeing screen vets like Guinness and Cushing.\u00a0 The main cast does a capable job as well. The three principal actors- Hamill, Fisher and Ford- deliver exactly the kinds of performances required by the story. The young hero-to-be, the no-nonsense heroine-in-distress and the greedy mercenary that finds a conscience are all stock characters, but Lucas uses the types to great advantage in Star Wars<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0The rousing score by John Williams is classic! We all know it\u2019s great so there\u2019s no need to discuss it further. The two droids, kind of a robotic Laurel & Hardy, provide great comedy relief. The proper protocol droid (C-3PO) and his short mischievous companion (R2-D2) make a winning pair. There are many reasons why Star Wars<\/strong> is an enduring classic, but the most important one is that it\u2019s an awesome flick!<\/p>\r\n Star Wars\u00a0 (1977)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 20th Century Fox\/Sci-Fi-Action-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 121 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (sci-fi violence, mild language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: George Lucas\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: George Lucas\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: John Williams\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Gilbert Taylor\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: May 25, 1977 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, James Earl Jones […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-these-are-some-classic-flicks","category-sci-fi-fantasy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Star-Wars-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":741,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141\/revisions\/741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Star-Wars-POSTER.jpg?resize=620%2C948&ssl=1\")
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